Card issuers become wary, leaving consumers pinched

Eileen AmbroseSun reporter

Now that homeowners can no longer easily use their homes as an ATM, many are turning back to credit cards.

But beware. Card issuers, like other lenders, are sensitive to problems in the beleaguered mortgage market and unlikely to give much leeway to consumers who start appearing risky. You may find your interest rate rising or your credit limit reduced.

"They are very, very sensitive to anyone who slips up on their payments, even just a little bit late," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Some consumer advocates say they have been hearing more complaints about higher interest rates and reduced credit limits when customers were late with a single payment or took on more debt.

And sometimes it doesn't even take that.

Arthur and MaryLee Stritch say they always pay on time, have a good credit record and have not taken on more debt in the past year. Yet the Abingdon, Md., couple were notified recently that Capital One planned to raise their interest rate to 15.9 percent, from 9.9 percent.

"It didn't explain why it was going up," said MaryLee Stritch, a librarian for a Baltimore County elementary school.

The Stritches got a Capital One card several years ago because it offered the lowest rate. "The commercial says, `What's in your wallet?' It really irks me to know since I got this notice that what's in my wallet is going up to 15.9 percent," MaryLee Stritch said.

It will make a big difference for the Stritches, who carry a balance. If they maintain their $9,000 balance under the new rate, they would pay $540 more in interest in the first year.

Arthur Stritch, a semiretired consultant, suspects the rate increase is a way to make up for losses in the mortgage market. "All of it is tied together in the credit industry," he said.

Capital One spokeswoman Pam Girardo said the rate increase has been in the works for months and is unrelated to problems affecting the mortgage market. She said the customers' rates are going up for "business and economic" reasons, and rising interest rates are part of that.

Higher card interest rates are "related to borrower characteristics, such as their balance, new lines of credit or payment history," said Greg McBride, senior analyst with Bankrate.com.

Other credit card issuers, including American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, say they periodically change a customer's terms to manage risk. But when it has been done lately, some card issuers said, people mistakenly assume that it is linked to the subprime mortgage mess.

"Unlike the mortgage market, credit card issuers just didn't wake up to the prospect of risk three weeks ago. ... They are always concerned about the credit card portfolio," McBride said. "If you pose a greater risk to your credit card issuer, you can expect pre-emptive measures on the issuer's part."

The American Bankers Association's chief economist agrees, but adds the mortgage market's woes have highlighted the risk of lending.

"And there is no question, in my mind at least, that influences any decision about creditworthiness for mortgages, credit cards, car loans or personal loans," said ABA economist James Chessen. Lenders are going to make sure that they price their products in line with the risk they are taking given a consumer's credit history, he said.

What's a consumer to do?

You can start by making sure you pay credit card bills on time so you don't trigger any rate increases or other onerous changes.

"People sometimes don't understand that if you miss a number of payments, that signals to lenders that you may miss payments altogether at some point," Chessen said.

Read any notices from your card issuer that could be alerting you to changes. This will give you time to contact the card company to negotiate terms or shop for a new card.

A new Consumer Reports survey of nearly 36,300 readers found that negotiating often works, said executive editor Greg Daugherty. Half of those who asked the card company for a reduced rate received one, he said.

If your card issuer won't budge, shop for new plastic.

"The credit card market is extremely competitive, and there is often a solicitation in your mailbox that says they have a better credit card that will meet your needs," Chessen said.

Shop for card offers at Card Ratings.com and Bankrate.com. Or check out cards from credit unions, Daugherty said.

You can also improve your situation by paying down balances, especially if your credit limit has been slashed.

Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, said a credit limit reduction has a variety of repercussions. If you carry a big balance, you can easily go over the new limit by using the card and get hit with a penalty, he said.

Also, when a credit limit is lowered, you have a higher level of debt in relation to available credit--a negative for credit scores, Arnold said. And if your credit score drops, the card company may raise your interest rate.

Eileen Ambrose is a columnist for The Baltimore Sun, a Tribune Co. newspaper.